The Shadows of Understanding
by Soul Magic Collab
Summary: Ryou's indulging in a book lately, and isn't telling Bakura what it's about. Bakura would check for himself, but he can only read hieroglyphs. Ryou can only read Japanese. So why not teach each other? -- Shonen-ai, (shounen-ai?), fluff, BR
1. The Book

The Shadows of Understanding  
  
***  
  
A collab fic of DTT and JH  
  
Chappie by: Mondai Senshi  
  
aka: Double Trouble Togepi  
  
It should be said that "Yami" means dark and "Hikari" means light. X3 Pet names. And "Chan" just further promoted the pet-name feeling.  
  
First attempt at the first chapter:  
  
***  
  
Ryou held his change of heart card up to the light of his lamp. Bakura, the spirit inside of his Millenium Ring, looked over his shoulder.  
  
...  
  
DTT's getting fluffy in the second sentence.  
  
Holy goodness~!! I shall seek out Ra and beg him for forgiveness.  
  
Let's try this again, shall we?  
  
*ahem*  
  
The real chapter 1:  
  
***  
  
Ryou lay on his bed reading a book, his feet in the air. Bakura, the spirit of his millenium ring, sat on the side of the bed near him. He seemed interested, but insistant on focusing on the window.  
  
Ryou had been a normal kid, when he was younger, and still was sometimes. But other times he had been known to talk to, visit with, or even be posessed by the spirit. It all began when his father brought a dreamcatcher-shaped golden momento back to Ryou on an excursion in Egypt. This item was one of seven golden artifacts from deep within the ruins of Egypt, a choice few harboring the spirits of those departed, among them the Ring and the Millenium Puzzle, which housed the essance of the pharoah.  
  
Bakura spoke slowly. "What are you reading, Hikari?"  
  
"It's a fantasy story," Ryou replied. "The Shadows of Understanding."  
  
"Is it a good story?"  
  
Ryou grinned and looked back at Bakura. "It's too early to say, really."  
  
Bakura nodded. Ryou couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yami-chan, why are you always so serious?"  
  
Bakura shrugged and vanished into thin air.  
  
***  
  
*DTT squeals* That was fun, but so so hard~!! Oo` I need a break and to return to my own wierdness and my own fans and fics.  
  
JH: Well, you took long enough...  
  
DTT: *cowers* Leave your left arm alone, she's trying~!! You weren't kidding when you said it was hard~!! 


	2. Lesson One

The Shadows of Understanding  
***  
A collab fic of Double Trouble Togepi and JessieHeart  
  
Chappie by: JessieHeart  
*  
  
Ryou walked down the dusty sidewalk, kicking stones as he went. School had ended, teenagers were rushing around, thinking about food or dates. Ryou didn't hear any of them. His thoughts, as usual, rested on him Yami. The spirit of the Millenium Ring was usually aloof. He only came out to posses Ryou or play a Shadow Game. However, lately, Bakura had been projecting himself out of Ryou's body, sitting simply as an astral image, quiet and non-disturbing. Ryou was troubled by this. If his Yami was content to be silent for so long, that could only mean he was plotting something.  
  
Ryou didn't hear it when someone called out his name. He pulled out his book 'The Shadows of Understanding' and continued to delve into its pages. He did this all the home.  
  
Once in the safety of his room, Ryou threw his backpack into a corner and continued to read. It wasn't long until the Millenium Ring grew warm at his chest, and Bakura appeared beside him.  
  
"Still reading?" he asked, his tone admitting that he didn't really want an answer. He had simply asked for the sake of asking a question. He didn't even bother to look at Ryou.   
  
The hikari sighed. "Yes. I'm still reading. It's a good book, you should read it."  
  
Bakura didn't answer. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked out the window. A tense silence passed between them. The hikari was not done trying to be nice. After all, if they were going to share a body, they might as well be on good terms…  
  
Ryou held up the thick pages, even though he knew his yami could not take them. "I wouldn't mind resting my eyes for a bit. If you start now, you can catch up to were I am."  
  
"I have no desire to read your fantasy novel," Bakura said plainly. His voice was forceful. Ryou was hurt.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
At last, Bakura look at Ryou. His eyes were cold. "Because I cannot read your pathetic Japanese text."  
  
Ryou blinked and lowered his arm. "Oh."  
  
"I can only read the hieroglyphics of my era. I picked up spoken Japanese while I resided in the back of your mind."  
  
Bakura looked away, back towards the window. Ryou saw his ghost-like hands clench and unclench. He got the courage to speak.  
  
"If you COULD understand Japanese… would you read this book?" he asked meekly.   
  
Bakura took a breath. Ryou could tell he was getting annoyed. Bad things happened when Bakura got annoyed…   
  
"I suppose so," he said. Ryou smiled.  
  
"I could teach you. It's not that difficult-" he started.  
  
"TEACH me?!" Bakura laughed. "Liked those simple-minded adults at the school you attend each day? I have better things to do. Like plan how to get the Millenium Puzzle from that insufferable pharoah."  
  
"It wouldn't take that long," Ryou pleaded. He couldn't believe he was actually begging to spend time with his dark side! But he couldn't help thinking that maybe some bonding was all his yami needed to be a little nicer. "You could teach me some hieroglyphics in return, maybe…"  
  
Bakura raised his head, looking at Ryou as if he was superior. "We shall see. I'll teach you some Egyptian, and if you make any progress at all- which is doubtful- I'll allow you to teach me some Japanese."  
  
Ryou ignored the urge to sarcastically say, "Goodie." Instead, he pulled out a notebook.   
  
Bakura came closer, then vanished. Ryou felt the familiar sensation of blacking out, a sure sign that Bakura was taking control of his body. When he came to, the astral projection of Bakura again stood next to him. Several marking and symbols were written on the notebook page.  
  
Bakura noticed Ryou's slightly disturbed look.  
  
"Perhaps this lesson would be better served in our soul rooms, where we can both be solid," he suggested.   
  
"Good idea," Ryou agreed. He closed his eyes and concentrated on diving deeper into his mind. In a flash of light, he was inside his soul room, Bakura beside him.  
  
Ryou's soul room was bright and cheerful. It was littered with things of his childhood and momentous of good times. The atmosphere was playful, almost whimsical. A bed lay in on corner, a stack of comic books in another. However, one corner was an anomaly, it clearly did not belong. The corner held a door, shadowed and chained. The door would only open for Bakura. It led to his soul room, his private place that no one else could reach.  
  
Bakura sat down on the floor, Ryou's notebook in hand. Without warning he began to explain the symbols, describing how each of then would fit together to make a phrase. Ryou was confused at first, but as the hours went on he began to make definite progress. Ryou could write a little, even though in comparison to Bakura's, his penmanship was atrocious.   
  
After a while, Ryou had a thought. "Yami, can you speak Egyptian as well?"  
  
Bakura laughed spitefully. "What kind of a question is that? Of course I can. It's my native language."  
  
"Say something for me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want to hear your voice in your own words," said Ryou, his voice barely above a whisper. Bakura sighed and released a string of words both foreign and beautiful to Ryou's ears.   
  
"Say something else," the lighter half asked.   
  
As Bakura spoke, the boy closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the sound. He had no idea what his yami was saying to him, he wouldn't be the wiser if the words were a mix of swears and insults. It all sounded lovely, and like this Ryou could imagine Bakura being nice, a civil person he could have intelligent conversation with.  
  
The voice stopped. "What are you doing?"  
  
Ryou opened his eyes. He answered the question with one. "How come you never call me by my name?"  
  
Bakura thought. "It never really seems fitting to call you Ryou. You Japanese have a weird way of thinking that by calling someone by their first name means that you're on familiar terms. It don't want to call you Bakura, either."  
  
"The pharaoh calls Yuugi 'aibou' or 'hikari.' Both are names for a light, or the lighter side of yourself."  
  
Bakura sneered. "I have no lighter side. I am the darkness."  
  
Ryou looked away. "I know, Yami-Chan."  
  
"Don't call me that," Bakura demanded swiftly.  
  
"I've done it before."  
  
They were both silent for a very long time. Bakura absolutely refused to look at Ryou. The boy almost thought he should leave, until the tomb robber spoke.  
  
"So. Explain to me this Japanese of yours," he said slowly.  
  
Ryou turned to a fresh page in the notebook and wrote a few symbols in kanji.  
  
"First of all," he said professionally, "That's how to my name. It says 'Bakura Ryou.'" His yami blinked, the symbols meant nothing to him. Ryou tried again to interest him He asked cautiously, "What's your name, Yami?"  
  
The darker boy became quiet once more. He glanced at Ryou, then said irritably, "I don't remember. Like the pharaoh, many of my memories are lost to me."  
  
Ryou wrote a new phrase on the paper. "There. That's your name."  
  
Bakura looked at it. He inwardly thought the symbols were beautiful. "What does it say?"  
  
"Yami Bakura Ryou," the hikari admitted sheepishly. "Here. I'll explain the alphabet."   
  
Bakura interupted sharply. "No. I think we're done here." Ryou's face grew warm. He didn't mean to make Bakura mad at him. The yami arose and walked silently towards his soul room. "I'll see you tomorrow... Aibou."  
  
He slammed the darkened door, and their first lesson was over.  
*  
  
End of Chapter Two  
*  
  
JH: My Chapters are longer than yours...  
  
DTT: Again, I try my best.  
  
JH: I know. I think I'll write the next one, too.  
  
DTT & JH: Please review, pocky and fanfiction reviews are the only things that keep us alive!  
* 


	3. Lesson Two

The Shadows of Understanding  
  
***  
  
A collab fic of Double Trouble Togepi and JessieHeart  
  
Chapter By: JessieHeart  
  
*  
  
Surprisingly enough, the lessons continued. They began to take up more and more of Ryou's free time. His friends noticed his absence, but he found himself not caring.  
  
"Bakura!" Jonouchi called to Ryou one day. All his friends were with him, Yugi and the gang. "We're gonna go get hamburgers! Come with us!"  
  
"I- I don't have any money!" Ryou shouted back, even though it was a lie. He clutched the Millenium Ring and took a step backwards in the direction of his house.  
  
"Don't worry, Yugi will pay for you!" said Honda.  
  
"I will?" Yugi asked quietly.  
  
"That's okay! Maybe next time!" Ryou said, and to finish the conversation, turned all the way around and walked swiftly towards home.  
  
"'Didn't think it was possible to pass up a free burger," Jonouchi said to the others.  
  
Ryou knew it wasn't like himself to spend so little time with his friends, but he was eager to continue his lessons with Bakura. Bakura's progress had become more than Ryou had hoped for. The lessons were a little awkward at first, for Bakura liked being the teacher much more than being the student. He loathed being told what to do and refused to be wrong about anything. Eventually, Ryou learned to choose his words carefully around his yami, and Bakura realized that in order to learn anything, he had to stop being so demanding.  
  
Ryou went to the library and picked several children's books for Bakura to try. He graduated from those with annoyed ease, so they began reading short chapter books together. Ryou would sit as an astral image while Bakura possessed his body. Ryou read head of each selection over his yami's shoulder, then quiz Bakura about the books to check his comprehension.  
  
Ryou read through the first page swiftly. "It says that Ryota has a problem. Can you tell me what it is?"  
  
Bakura's eyes swept the page slowly, examining each sentence with caution, as if he didn't trust the book. At last, he proclaimed, "Ryota's cat died."  
  
"Is he upset?"  
  
"Devastated," Bakura said simply. He wasn't looking at his hikari, but staring meaningfully at the page. "He's known that cat for as long as he can remember. He can't believe it's gone." Ryou nodded, then expected Bakura to turn the page. Instead, the darker boy ran his hand down the paper and ink, as if trying to feel the words. "How could a life that meant so much to you be taken away so swiftly? Shut away in a place where you can never touch… Not really, at least…"  
  
Ryou reread the page, and realized that none of that was on there. Bakura was thinking out loud. The yami suddenly shut the book and slid it across the floor.  
  
"I don't want to read that one anymore," he said. His tone let Ryou know that there would be no argument.  
  
For having to read Japanese books, Bakura made Ryou read aloud from lengthy Egyptian scrolls he found in his soul room. As he struggled through a scroll, Ryou secretly thought that this was Bakura's way of getting revenge. When he was through Bakura scorned his light's accent, but commended him overall for the effort.   
  
It was tortuous, at times, for Ryou to struggle through Bakura's lessons. But he found himself looking forward them, their private time, the lapses where Bakura would gently encourage him, give him hints about the passage, rather than be his usual self. He wanted to spend longer and longer times in his soul room, finding excuses to touch his yami's warm hands. He began to hate reality. In reality their bodies were one and the same, but in there they were just two souls, teaching and learning.  
  
With each of the lessons, Ryou fell more and more in love with him.  
  
He wondered at the feeling at first. It couldn't possibly be love. The feeling was a fondness, surely, but love? Of course not. He wanted to spend hours on end with his yami, he wanted him to read 'The Shadows of Understanding,' he wanted to listen to that wonderful voice in that beautiful Egyptian language forever and beyond, but he couldn't possibly love his yami. It was whimsical thinking, he was simply dreaming. It wasn't real. Not love. No.  
  
But it was.   
  
"Am I ready to read that book yet?" Bakura asked after each lesson, confident in his own progress.  
  
"No," Ryou replied, and would then name an excuse for not letting him. He knew he would have to hand over 'The Shadows of Understanding' eventually, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If he did the lessons would stop. Ryou wouldn't be able to stand that, not after all this time. Besides, while he was eager for his yami to read it at first, now the subject of the book terrified Ryou. He didn't know how his yami would take it…  
  
Ryou knew that the feeling might not be returned, but Bakura certainly noticed the difference in Ryou's attitude.  
  
"Is something bothering you?" Bakura asked during one lesson. He grinned evilly. "Please tell me it's the pharaoh. I need a good excuse to cut his head off."  
  
Ryou looked at his hands. He inwardly told himself, Just because you've decided to love him, doesn't mean he's decided to love you. "Nothing's bothering me."  
  
Bakura read the last page of a science fiction novel out loud. He really had gotten very good. "Am I ready to read 'The Shadows of Understanding' yet?"  
  
Ryou sighed. "No. There's some tough vocabulary in there I haven't covered with you yet."  
  
Bakura sneered. "I've read more than a dozen novels, and yet it seems that I've made no progress."   
  
Ryou bit his lower lip. He could understand his yami's frustration. Perhaps he should let bakura read the book… No. Ryou wasn't ready for it. He still longed for their teaching each day. Wait until this silly crush passes, he told the logical side of his brain, then I'll let him read it.  
  
However, in the mean time, Bakura needed to know that his reading was becoming more advanced. Ryou came up with the perfect solution.  
  
"You know," he said casually, "You've practically caught up with my school. Why don't you take control of our body when my teacher goes through grammar?" He waited while Bakura processed the suggestion, but it didn't look like he was willing to accept. Ryou needed to twist it so it sounded like Bakura was doing the favor, not the other way around. "You'd be helping me out a lot. I hate that class and my mind needs a break."  
  
Bakura smiled his roguish grin and agreed. But the plan was better said than done.  
  
When it came time for the possession, the Millenium Ring glowed and Bakura took over. This went unnoticed the whole class, save one boy who also owned a Millenium Item. Yugi, who saw the yami of the Ring appear, jumped and fell out of his chair, terrified. The only times he'd ever seen Bakura come out was when he wanted to kill someone… or destroy… or steal his Puzzle, or something malicious in general. He wouldn't have guessed that the evil spirit just wanted to take a few vocabulary notes.  
  
Jonouchi realized what was going on and tried to fight the spirit right then and there. That resulted in a one-way trip to the principal's office. Then Bakura broke his pencil, and instead of going to a sharpener, he took out a knife and whittled it down. The teacher caught him, and he was sent down to the same place as Jonouchi.  
  
Ryou was not pleased.  
  
"You go me suspended for three days!" he cried, once the two of them were in Ryou's soul room.  
  
"How was I supposed to know that you imbecilic school didn't allow knives? In my day, if you DIDN'T carry a knife, you'd be dead or robbed in less than an hour!" Bakura shouted back.  
  
Ryou turned away and sulked. All feelings aside, he was furious with his yami. At least, he was for a full three seconds. Those were until Bakura put a hand on Ryou's shoulder and turned him around, his face sincere and meaningful. Then all of Ryou's anger melted away  
  
"I messed up," Bakura said, not all together good at apologies. "I didn't know school meant all that much to you. It seems pointless to me anyway."  
  
Ryou couldn't look at his any longer. His heart was going to burst from woeful longing. He loved his yami so much…  
  
Yes, his yami. That was a sole, undeniable truth. That was every reason to tell Bakura how he felt, yet every reason not to. He just had to decide which was more important.  
  
He inner battle did not go unnoticed. "Something IS bothering you," Bakura stated.  
  
"Yes," the hikari said quietly.  
  
Bakura cupped Ryou's chin and made him look into his eyes. "Tell me."  
  
Ryou swallowed, but the lump in his throat remained. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.  
  
"Aibou?"  
  
No, no… Can't do it, can't tell him. He was too precious to lose over a silly crush. These feelings would pass and things could go back to normal. Maybe someday they could be friends… This wasn't love, it wasn't real.  
  
Bakura silently let go of him and walked towards his soul room. His hand landed on the handle.  
  
He turned it, ready to step in-  
  
"Yami!"  
  
Bakura turned his head and saw Ryou standing there, fists clenched, eyes heartsore, face a twisted wreck of insecure madness.  
  
"Yami… I…"  
  
Bakura waited. He blinked.  
  
"I… love you…."  
  
Ryou awaited to full force that his words would have on his yami. He couldn't guess Bakura's reaction. Would he be angry? Happy? Ashamed? What would he do? Ryou trembled slightly, waiting for Bakura's reaction, his eye's never leaving Bakura's still face…  
  
Without responding, Bakura turned his head and entered his soul room.  
  
*  
  
End of Chapter Three  
  
*  
  
DTT: Wow. You've turned into a sappy romance writer.  
  
JH: I've always been that way. You read my sappy Rocketshippy crap!  
  
DTT: Not crap~!!  
  
DTT and JH: Again, please review! We are naught but humble fanfic authors!  
  
(( DTT makes a comment: Jessie-San has been busy, but as she finally got a school-break, she UPDATED~!!! yay! ^^ )) 


End file.
